Who Will Be the Next Bachelor? Here Are the Top Contenders

This one’s a given. Mike Johnson first entered our lives when he starred on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette before joining the cast of Bachelor in Paradise. Since then, fans have been rooting for him to become the next King of Roses (working title, bear with us), and Bachelor Nation agrees.

Not only did host Chris Harrison previously reveal that he fully supports Johnson as a potential Bachelor, but former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher also confirmed that she’s Team Mike.

Remember him from Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette? Well, Blake Hortsmann went on to star on Bachelor in Paradise, where he got heat from the ladies when he asked them to lie about hooking up with him prior to coming on the show. As if!

A source later revealed that Horstmann’s reason had everything to do with his desire to become the next Bachelor, so we wouldn’t be surprised if he gets his wish.

Clay Harbor first starred on Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette, where he was forced to leave the show after suffering an injury during the group date that threatened his career in the NFL. He later starred on Bachelor in Paradise and has since been self-quarantining with Peter Weber and Kelley Flanagan, which means he’s probably extremely close to the pilot’s right-hand gal, Bachelor producer Julie LaPlaca (who has been hanging out with Weber ever since The Bachelor stopped filming, just like Harbor). *Hint, hint*

We know what you’re thinking, and no, he’s not dating Brown. Despite their recent self-quarantine, the former Bachelorette admitted that she’s not romantically involved with Tyler Cameron, who came in second place on her season of the popular dating series. *Sniff, sniff* Is that a prime Bachelor candidate we smell?

He already starred on season 21 of The Bachelor, but there are two key reasons we included Nick Viall on the list. First, he’s still single after calling off his engagement with Vanessa Grimaldi. And second, ABC exec Rob Mills previously revealed that they’re looking for an “aged-up” cast for Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette, so we wouldn’t be surprised if they follow suit with the upcoming season of The Bachelor. (Viall is 39 years old, FYI.)

Yes, he’s a total wild card, since he low-key ruined Brown’s season of The Bachelorette. But if we’ve learned anything from past installments, ABC is willing to do anything—we repeat, anything—to increase ratings, even if it means bringing back one of the most hated contestants (aka Jed Wyatt).